Monday, 25 October 2010

A strange mixture of poker players, athletes and body builders descended upon an aircraft hangar in California yesterday afternoon, for the first ever “Rush Poker Live” event. Just over two thousand players took part , and the aim was to whittle down that number to just nine in forty-five minutes.

The event worked like this. All the players started off sat at a table, but the moment the player wasn’t involved in the current hand, he was free to join another table. These tables were marked by a person standing on the table with a paddle saying “seats available”. The race to these tables was survival of the fittest, and a free for all. The moment that table was full, another table would become available.

It was frenetic and fun.

The Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt was the most active player in the first twenty minutes, but found himself out of the tournament when he was disqualified after one of his trademark poses managed to poke Gus Hansen in the eye, putting Hansen on the sidelines too.

Injuries were commonplace, and the fact that there were only two fatalities in the whole event was greeted with a general thumbs-up, as the Vegas line was set at five and a half.

There was a shock at the final table, as Doyle Brunson took his seat. When asked how he did it, he said “Well, I folded seven-nine off in the first hand of the day, and I haven’t played a damned hand since.”

The final table was a much calmer affair, amid the spotlight of the cameras, and the groans of the injured. Brunson and his short stack went soon, and the final three were Helmut von Huerdigen, a weightlifter from Bavaria, KipKoech Kipka, a middle distance runner from Kenya and Clark Kent, a newspaper reporter from Metropolis, USA.

The winner was Clark Kent, who won very easily in the end. Von Huerdigen, the runner-up, congratulated him by saying, “Well done. You were very good. It was almost as if you could see our cards!”

A great days entertainment and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

MF

PS: This was a quality guest post from blogger Nick aka 'Cloudyman'- who is doing a fundraiser for the UK's premier childrens hospital - Great Ormond Street (happens to have had an important role in my own family history). To check out his endeavors and challenge him in return for your donation visit: http://www.twitterpoker.co.uk